A Life With My Best Friend
by criminalmindsfan7
Summary: JJ and her two children end up without a home when Will's paranoia spirals out of control and turns him against his family. Emily takes them into her home and they end up giving her the best gift she could ever ask for. Eventual JJ/Prentiss.
1. Chapter 1

Jennifer Jareau couldn't believe what was happening. Sure, she knew something was going to happen in the end. She and Will couldn't go on like this forever, not with all the accusations. But she definitely didn't see it coming like this.

Things hadn't been good over the past nine months. In fact, that was a huge understatement. Things had been awful; almost unbearable some nights.

It all started at David Rossi's birthday party. He had a huge party at his 'cabin' as he called it, but let's be honest, it was a mansion. Everybody was there and it was a great night.

At the end of the night JJ, Will and their two beautiful little boys, Henry and Logan, said their goodbyes to Rossi. JJ pressed a light, friendly birthday kiss to the older profiler's cheek… and that was where the suspicion began.

Will was different in the car ride home that night. He was quieter than usual, shrugging off some of her questions and not looking in her direction once.

They arrived home and put the boys to bed. It was well past their bedtime.

Once in their own bedroom he still hadn't looked her way once. Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she asked him what was wrong. That's when he spoke the words that nearly had her jaw hitting the floor.

'_Are you cheatin' on me, JJ?'_

JJ couldn't believe what she was hearing. They argued for hours that night, until it got so bad that they woke Henry up. That's when they decided to call it quits for the night and JJ slept in the spare room.

And that was just the start of it.

From then on almost every time JJ came back from a case she was accused of sleeping with David Rossi. Will did always wonder why that man went to so much trouble to get his wife back in the BAU.

Things got worse a few months later when the team had an outing to the bar. After that the accusations weren't just about Rossi, but Hotch and Morgan and Reid too. He thought she was sleeping with them all.

Life became almost unbearable from then on, but she couldn't leave him. She had to stay strong for Henry and Logan. They needed their father and as much as his paranoia hurt her, she could never take his children away from him.

If it were only the accusations, she could have dealt with it; for her boys.

But things got even worse.

The team and friends had gathered for Jack's birthday. Again, it was a good party; Henry and Logan were having a great time. That afternoon when they were getting ready to leave, Jack was helping Logan tie his shoelaces, when Garcia pointed out that the boys looked alike. JJ had to agree, apart from their eye color, Jack and Logan could pass for brothers.

When they got home that evening, the accusations got worse than JJ could have ever imagined.

'_He's not mine, is he?'_

'_What? Who?'_

'_Logan. He's Hotchner's kid. I know it.'_

From then on Will not only argued with JJ, but he distanced himself from their youngest child. It broke JJ's heart completely as she watched the man she had once loved reject their little boy.

It wasn't long before Will's paranoia grew and he started to suspect that Henry wasn't his either. He'd always noticed how Spencer Reid seemed to have a special bond with the older little boy.

The blonde profiler tried for weeks to convince her husband that he needed help. He needed to see somebody. But he was having none of it.

It then became clear to JJ that she needed to leave him. He didn't love her or their children anymore. Surely, as hard as the transition would be, it would be better in the long run for her and the boys.

So as it poured down with rain, she drove back to the house she lived in, a place she could no longer call her home, she decided she would talk to Will when she arrived back. Either he needed to agree to get some help for his paranoia or she was taking the boys and they would be out of the house by the end of the weekend.

She prayed that this ultimatum would make him see that he was going to lose his family if he didn't stop this madness.

As JJ pulled up outside the house, her eyes widened at what she saw. The blonde jumped out of the car and ran through the pouring rain towards the two shivering pajama clad figures that sat on the doorstep. Her nostrils inhaled the smell of burning, like a bonfire. But this wasn't unusual as Halloween had only just passed and people were still using up leftover fireworks.

"Henry, what's going on?" The woman practically shouted as she reached her children. "Why are you to outside so late in the rain?"

"Daddy said we got to stay away from him." Henry sobbed out; releasing the tight grip he had on his little three year old brother to hug his mother.

JJ pulled both of her little boys into her arms before picking up Logan and taking Henry's hand, quickly leading them to the car. She could feel how wet and cold they were. They must have been soaked through. If that bastard had made her boys ill, she'd kill him.

They reached the car and Henry climbed inside the back and shuffled along to the other side, before JJ placed Logan in next to him. "Okay, you boys stay here for a minute and Mommy's going to get us some spare clothes."

They nodded, tears still running down both of their beautiful little faces.

Before going to the house JJ went to the front of the car and turned on the engine, whacking the heat up full blast.

After that the blonde launched herself towards the house, ripping her keys out of her purse on the way. She reached the front door and let herself in, before leaping up the stairs and into the boy's bedroom.

Her bright blue eyes nearly sprang out of her head as she looked around the room; all of their toys were gone. She ran over to the same closet and yanked the door open; their clothes were missing too. She quickly grabbed the boys' security blankets, which were still on the beds and exited the room.

The angry female stomped down the corridor to her own room which she had shared with Will for over eight years. She was surprised to find that he wasn't in the room. Throwing the door to their closet open, she was even more shocked to find all her clothes gone also. _Maybe Will's already packed our things._ She thought.

At that thought her attention was stolen by the orange glow that was lighting the room through the window. She moved over to the window and really couldn't believe what she was seeing.

JJ sprang into action and launched herself downstairs, before running into the big back garden. In the garden she found her husband sitting in a chair with a bottle of beer in his hand, next to a huge fire.

As the blonde gazed into the fire, she could see her belonging disintegrating. A tear ran down the female profiler's cheek as she spotted some of Henry's baby books along with the first cuddly toy she'd ever bought for Logan burning.

He'd burnt everything.

"WILL!" She screamed at him, as the tears began to fall faster. "Why are you doing this?"

"Get outta here JJ." He spoke into the fire, not looking at his wife.

"Okay I get it, you want us gone." She screeched. "BUT WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BURN ALL OF OUR STUFF?"

"Just leave." Will spoke calmly. "Go stay at Hotchner's house, or Rossi's. I'm sure either would be happy for another ride on you."

"YOU'RE INSANE!" JJ screamed as she ran back through the house with only her purse and the boys' blankets.

Reaching the car, JJ ripped the driver's side door open and jumped inside, before resting her head on the steering wheel.

"Mommy?" The voice of her three year old son rang. "Why you crying?"

"I'm okay, Logan." She assured him, turning and offering him a smile, which he halfheartedly returned.

Their Mom then passed back the blankets she had rescued.

"Where are all our clothes?" Henry asked.

"We're going to get new clothes tomorrow, Honey." JJ tried to remain smiling in front of her babies, when deep inside she wanted to bawl her eyes out.

"Where are we sleeping?" Henry asked.

At that question, JJ's smile dropped. She hadn't even thought about that. Where were they going to go?

It would be useless to start searching for a 'bed and breakfast' at this hour. JJ really didn't want to intrude on her teammates lives, but she couldn't have her little boys sleeping in the car in their soaking wet pajamas. They'd catch pneumonia.

She quickly ruled out Hotch and Garcia as they only had very small apartments anyway. The last thing they needed was three house guests at this hour. Rossi and Reid lived too far away so that was them out of the window. That left Morgan or Emily.

"We're going to see if your Aunt Emily can take us in for the night, okay?" JJ told her sons.

"Sergio!" Logan shouted excitedly, clapping his hands.

"Yeah, that's right."

With that said the blonde profiler drove to her best friend's house, praying the boys would be good and they wouldn't be intruding too much on Emily. They would just stay for one night then find a more appropriate solution in the morning.

JJ pulled up outside Emily's place and helped Henry out of the car before dragging Logan into her arms. She locked the car and took hold of Henry's hand as she walked up to her friend's front door. She let go of her eldest's hand and raised her arm to the door, knocking three times.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow! I am amazed by the amount of people who have added this story to alert. Thank you so much. I've had a really bad day at work today and all your support has really cheered me up. Special thanks to **SSAJemily**, **velizara95**, **shaaronC**, **Swishla**, **crayolakid0413**, **CrimStudent47**, **123a456e**, **jazziepha206**, **Pheonix1995**, **keonquil**, **storiesbime**, **silenceiseverything**, **calzonaobessed**, **chawkchic**, **justme1701**, **Crazy Heart 101** and **jemilyislife666** for you kind reviews.(apologies if i spelt anyone's name wrong.) Anyways, enough of my rambling, here's the second chapter.

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JJ waited anxiously for Emily to open the door. She really hated to bother her friend at this hour, especially after the hard case they had just worked. But what else could she do; she couldn't let Henry and Logan freeze to death. Emily would understand that. JJ knew that Emily would happily welcome them into her home with no fuss whatsoever, but she still hated to intrude.

The blonde heard the latch unlock on the front door, before the wooden barrier slowly opened revealing her best friend stood in a pair of pajama shorts and a black t-shirt holding her glock.

Emily's eyes widened at her company and she quickly hid her gun behind her, hoping the children hadn't seen it.

"Emily!" Henry's voice rang as he launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around the older female.

"Hey, Little man." Emily greeted, wrapping one arm around the boy, the other still holding her gun behind her back. "Jesus, you're soaking wet." She announced, as she felt the water on her bare legs. "Come inside." The brunette swiftly shuffled the family into her house. "What's going on? Why are you all so wet?"

JJ opened her mouth to speak, unsure of what to say in front of the boys. But Henry jumped in first.

"Daddy locked us out in the rain." He pouted up at her.

Emily's jaw dropped and her eyes flickered between the two soaking boys and their mother. She didn't know quite what to say. She knew that JJ and Will had been having problems, but she had no idea it had gotten this bad.

"Here, you boys follow me and I'll get you something dry to wear." She wanted to find out what was going on, but she knew that she need to get the kids warmed up first. Plus JJ still looked a little shell-shocked; she hadn't said anything yet.

Emily led the youngsters into the spare room that they had stayed in a couple of times before, when Emily had babysat for JJ and Will while they went out. JJ followed closely behind them, still not saying a word.

Emily pulled out the pajamas and underwear that the boys had left there in the past for when they stayed around, before running into the bathroom and dragging out three big towels. "Okay, you two get out of your wet clothes and get dry with these towels." She passed one to each little boy, before laying their pajamas out on the double bed. She then turned to JJ and passed her the third towel. "I'll go get you some pajamas from my room."

With that said, the older female disappeared, leaving JJ with her little boys. She helped them out of their wet clothes and dried them off, before helping Logan into his clean clothing, while Henry dressed himself.

Emily knocked lightly on the door before entering the room and grinning at her guests. "Here you go. I bought these ages ago and I've not worn them once. The label's still on them." The brunette profiler handed the pajamas to her friend.

JJ smiled up at her from her place on the bed, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes, but she quickly got control of herself for the sake of her boys. "Thank you Emily." JJ took the pajamas from the older woman. "I'm so sorry about this." She rushed to apologize. "If we can just stay here for one night, we'll find somewhere else in the morning. I…"

"Whoa JJ." Emily interrupted. "Don't be silly, you can stay here for as long as you need." She assured her friend, noticing the tears threatening to escape her bright blue pools.

"I couldn't ask you…"

"You're not asking for anything." She broke the sentence once more. "I'm offering."

"Mommy?" Henry called from where he sat on the floor, breaking the women's conversation.

"What is it Baby?" She spoke softly.

"I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me." Logan added, rolling across the floor towards Emily, coming to a stop as he banged into her legs and grabbed hold of one.

"Come on boys, it's late." JJ told them, staring up at the clock on the nightstand. "Let's get some sleep and let Emily get back to bed."

"But I'm hungry." Henry pouted, as he folded his arms across his chest and stared up at his mom.

"I don't mind making them something to eat." Emily said, pulling Logan up off of her leg and into her arms.

"Are you sure?" JJ asked jumping up. "We really don't want to be a bother."

"It's no problem at all." She assured the blonde, before leading the family into kitchen. Emily quickly made the boys some sandwiches and offered to make something for JJ, but she refused.

While the kids were eating at the kitchen table, Emily approached JJ who was leaning against the doorframe. "What happened, Jayje?"

The younger woman shook her head. "I'll tell you when I get the boys to bed."

Emily nodded and pulled her friend into hug, which JJ accepted; resting her head on Emily's shoulder as a single tear escaped her eye.

Obviously being awoken by all the earlier kafuffle, Sergio came strolling into the room past the hugging women in the doorway, yawning.

"SERGIO!" Logan screamed from his chair at the table, as he spotted the black feline enter the kitchen. His outburst caused not only Sergio to jump, but also Emily and JJ.

The youngest little boy dropped down from his chair with a half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his hand, before leaping forward towards the cat and chasing him out of the room, pushing past the two women on his way.

"No, Logan!" JJ pulled away from Emily and ran off down the hallway after her son. "Leave Sergio alone and come and eat your sandwiches."

This is exactly what JJ hoped wouldn't happen. Emily was used to a quiet tranquil environment; she really didn't need two young boys shouting and screaming, breaking the peace.

The brunette could hear her friend's voice faltering as she chased after the youngest child.

Moments later JJ came back into the kitchen with a sleepy Logan in her arms. "Hurry up and finish your sandwich, Henry." She told him. "We need to get to bed."

Henry nodded and quickly finished his food, before JJ took both boys into the spare bedroom and tucked them into the double bed. She pressed a big kiss to each of their foreheads, then exited the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Emily was waiting for her in the hallway. She wrapped an arm around the blonde and led her into the front room, before lowering both herself and JJ down onto the couch.

The brunette saw what was coming next, so she swiftly pulled JJ into her arms as the blonde broke down. She allowed Emily to hold her tight to her chest as she let her barriers down and the tears she had held in all night finally consumed her.


	3. Chapter 3

WOW guys thank you so much for all the support. I can't believe over 80 people have added this story to alert after just two chapters. Thank you to everyone, alerting, favoriting, reviewing and just reading. It really means a lot to me. I will try to update as regularly as I can. Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.

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Emily held onto JJ as tightly as she could, her fingers gently grazing the younger woman's beautiful blonde hair. She didn't care that JJ hadn't yet changed out of her wet clothes and was making both Emily and the couch wet. She just needed to comfort the sobbing woman in her arms.

She didn't know how long they stayed in that position, but eventually the tears dried up and JJ lifted her head to gaze at her friend through swollen lids. The blonde offered a weak smile, before pulling away from Emily slightly, wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks.

"What happened, JJ?" Emily asked, hoping she wouldn't upset her friend further, by asking her to explain.

"Will threw us out." She replied, fighting back the next wave of tears that threatened to escape. "He's gone insane."

"Does he still think you're sleeping with the guys on our team?" JJ had told Emily about Will's accusations; most of them, anyway.

JJ nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "It's not just that though." She practically whispered. The tears began to fall once more as she explained her statement. "He doesn't believe that Henry and Logan are his."

"What?" The brunette shrieked, pulling her now sobbing friend into her arms. How dare that bastard hurt her friend like this? Emily knew that JJ would never do any of the things he'd accused her of. She loved him. Why she loved him, Emily could never understand. She was so much better than him. And how could he not believe Henry and Logan were his?

"He…" JJ tried to speak again, but couldn't get her words out. "He locked the boys outside." She sobbed loudly. "In the freezing cold rain." The blonde paused, trying to control her crying and catch her breath. "If they get sick I'll kill him. I swear, I will. I'll kill him."

"Not if I get to him first." Emily told her, releasing her grip on her friend again, as she calmed herself.

The pair stayed in silence for a while, as JJ stopped crying altogether and Emily took in what had happened to her friend.

Emily was the first to speak. "If you want, I can go back to your house tomorrow and pick up your stuff."

JJ looked to the floor, shaking her head as her friend came to the end of her sentence. "Our stuff's gone." She took a deep breath. "He's burnt everything."

Emily's jaw dropped. "What?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing everything. "Everything?"

JJ nodded. "Our clothes, the boy's toy, books and oh my god!"

"What?"

"He burnt all the presents." She exclaimed. "It's Henry's birthday in just over a week, then Logan's the week after." JJ held her hands to her face. "What am I going to do? I spent a fortune on those presents."

"We can buy some more." Emily told her, trying to keep herself calm for JJ's sake, when really she was livid at Will. "Tomorrow's Saturday, we can go shopping; get some new clothes and toys and I can watch the boys while you pick out some new presents."

"Thanks Em, that's really sweet. But we can't afford any of that. I could barely afford the presents I bought." She sighed.

"I can help out."

"No Emily, I couldn't let you." JJ insisted.

"Hey, I really want to." Emily assured her friend. "What sort of a Godmother would I be, if my gorgeous little Godson and his beautiful big brother didn't have any presents on their birthdays?"

"Em…"

"If you want to, you can pay me back bit by bit." Emily cut her off. "As and when you get the money." She would never ask JJ to pay her back for any of it, but she knew that was the only way she could get her to agree to it.

"You're sure." JJ asked, after a moment of deliberation.

"Of course." The brunette flashed a teethy smile, standing up. "Come on, let's get some sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

Following Emily's lead, JJ stood, picking up the pajamas her friend had lent her.

"Where do you want to sleep?" Emily inquired. "You can sleep in my bed with me if you want, or you can take the couch. Or if you wanna sleep in my bed but you'd be uncomfortable with me in the bed, I can take the couch."

"Emily, you've done too much for me already." The blonde announced. "I'm not going to kick you out of your own bed."

"I don't mind."

JJ glared at that mockingly, shaking her head. "Well you should. I'll be fine on the couch."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"One hundred percent."

"Okay, you get changed and I'll go and get you a spare quilt." With that said, the brunette profiler left the room.

JJ changed quickly and thanked Emily once again, when she returned with the quilt. She settled down on the couch.

Emily turned to leave the room again, but she stopped. "Jayje?"

"Yeah."

"It's going to be okay, you know." Emily told her. "Things are going to get better."

"I know." JJ smiled up at the brunette. "Thanks Em, for everything."

"You're very welcome."

The blonde closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "Night Em."

"Night JJ. Sleep well; we've got a fun day at the shops ahead of us."

"Fun day at the shops?" JJ repeated, her eyes shooting open. "You've never been to the mall with a seven year old and a three year old before have you?"

Emily chuckled at that as she made her way to her bedroom, looking forward to tomorrow's events.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys. Thanks again for the amazing response to this story. Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews, I really love hearing what you all think. Please keep them coming. This chapter is only a short one, but I've nearly finished the next one, so I should be able to update again tomorrow.

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Emily woke up a little later than usual the next morning. She had to think carefully for a moment, not one hundred percent sure that last night had really happened; maybe she just dreamed the whole thing up. Had JJ, Henry and Logan really arrived at her doorstep in the middle of the night?

The brunette profiler dragged herself out of bed and changed into some jeans and a red tee, before making her way out of her bedroom. As she approached the front room she could hear JJ's voice, confirming that last night had in fact happened.

Emily paused in the doorway, hearing JJ explaining some rules to the boys.

"…And we never go into Emily's room without her permission. We do not chase each other around the house. We do not chase Sergio around the house." JJ raised her eyebrows in Logan's direction at that last rule. "We do not go into the kitchen without an adult." Logan, obviously getting bored with what Emily was sure had been a long list rules, lay back on the floor and began to roll away from his mother. "Logan, come back here. That's another rule; no rolling around the floor." She grabbed hold of him, just in front of Emily's glasses cabinet. "And we do not go anywhere near anything that can smash or break easily."

"Like this?" Henry inquired, picking up a cat ornament from the centre of the coffee table.

"Yes, like that." JJ almost shouted, letting go of Logan and grabbing at the small object in Henry's hands, placing it back down carefully on the coffee table. "In fact, we do not touch anything that doesn't belong to us."

"Can we touch the floor?" Henry asked, staring up at his mom with a cheeky grin.

"Yes you can touch the floor." She sighed loudly.

"What about the couch?" He giggled to himself. "And the air, can we touch the air?"

"Henry!" JJ held her hands to her face, before running them back through her hair. "Don't be silly. You know exactly what I mean; don't touch any of Emily's personal things."

Henry laughed running away from his mother, around to the other side of the coffee table.

"No running in this house, Henry." The blonde shot around after her son.

"You're running Momma." He informed her, with a chuckle.

Emily couldn't help but grin into the room at the family. As much as she felt sorry for her friend, her kids were just too cute. And let's face it, they weren't naughty kids, they were just boys being boys. She also couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the way JJ was panicking over Henry and Logan _ruining_ her home. It wouldn't be the end of the world if they broke a few things or made a mess. There was nothing in the house that meant more to Emily than those little boys.

JJ caught up to Henry and held onto him, meanwhile Logan had managed to pull himself up onto the couch nearest the door and had spotted Emily watching them. He stood up on the arm of the chair and held out his arms. "Emmy!"

"Hey." Emily greeted him, launching forward into the room to grab the young boy as he lost his balance. She caught him before he fell and pulled him up into her arms.

"Logan, do not stand on the furniture." JJ pleaded, glancing over at Emily and her youngest son. "I'm so sorry Em. We didn't wake you did we?"

"No of course not and you have nothing to apologize for." She assured her. "In fact I should be thanking you, for allowing me to spend time with my two favorite boys in the whole world." She said, shifting her focus between Henry and Logan as she spoke.

"Mommy's been running in the house." Henry announced, grinning up at Emily.

"Has she now?" Emily asked with a smile, before smirking up at JJ. "Well your Mom is very silly then isn't she?"

"Yeah." Henry chuckled, turning to give his mom a hug, which she accepted, holding her little boy tight. "You can let go now, Mom." Henry told her after a short while.

Emily took the boys into the room they had slept in last night and got some of the clothes out that she had kept for them, while JJ went to retrieve her Go-Bag from the car.

Once everybody was washed and dressed, Emily went into the kitchen and poured four bowls of cereal, for herself and her guests.

It's a good job Emily had two sets of clothes at hers for the boys, as the majority of Logan's milk and cereal ended up on his clothes, some ended up on the floor and two pieces of cereal ended up stuck to his forehead. How this happened, no one was quite sure.

So after breakfast, JJ helped Logan change, before they four of them set off for their day at the mall.


	5. Chapter 5

Wow you guys are really spoiling with me reviews; please keep them coming, I love hearing your opinions. I might not be able to update for about another week after this, as I have a very busy work schedule this week, lots of important meetings and presentations I have to prepare for. I will still try to write during this time, but I'm just warning you it might be difficult. Here is chapter 5 though, hope you enjoy it.

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The women decided to tackle the clothes shopping first and then they would go shopping for toys later. As they entered the large clothes store, JJ kept tight hold of Logan's hand and made sure that Henry was walking in front of her.

Emily trailed behind the family, until JJ turned suddenly and stared at her uneasily. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her friend at first, but then she figured it out. JJ was afraid to get anything because Emily was paying.

"Hey, it's okay. Get anything you want Jayje." Emily assured her. "You all need some clothes, don't worry about the money.

"But Em…"

"Please JJ, what is the point of me having a lot of money if I don't get to spend it on the people I love." She pleaded with her, hoping her friend would cave in. "Henry and Logan need more than two sets of clothes and you need more than what's in your Go-Bag. Please, let me do this for you."

The blonde sighed, before giving a light nod. "I'm paying you back every penny, though."

"If that's what it takes." Emily told her.

JJ turned around to continue further into the shop, when her eyes began to dart frantically around the large complex, in search of her eldest son. "Henry?" He was nowhere to be seen. "Henry! Where are you?"

Both JJ and Emily began to panic when they couldn't find the little boy.

Suddenly Henry jumped out from between the slacks on the rail near where they were standing. "Boo!"

"Thank God." Emily let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. All the things she had dealt with in her past and that was one of the scariest moments of her life and it wasn't even her child. She could only begin to imagine how JJ must have felt.

"Henry!" JJ screamed. "Don't you ever scare me like that again." She dragged the seven year old into her arms as she calmed herself down. "I thought I'd lost you."

"I'm sorry Mommy." Henry said confused. "It was only a joke."

"Just don't do it again." She warned, releasing him and taking hold of both his and Logan's hands, before venturing further into the store.

JJ picked out a few bits for the boys and took them in the family changing room to try them on. This proved more difficult than she had originally expected and after Henry had put on a pair of jeans the wrong way, then fallen over trying to fasten them up and Logan had found a pair of pantyhose on the floor and put then over his head, looking like a bank robber, JJ decided to just buy the clothes and then return them if they didn't fit. They all looked about the right size anyway.

While her friend was in the changing room, Emily had found a few things for JJ. She knew that she could convince JJ to let her spend money on the boys, but getting her to pick out some things for herself was going to be more difficult.

Eventually, between them, they had picked out plenty of shirts, pants, shoes, socks and underwear for the boys and Emily had managed to convince JJ to get some socks, bras and panties, as well as a pair of shoes and two new tops.

JJ's eyes nearly popped out of her head, when the cashier announced how much everything came to. They hadn't even bought any toys or presents yet. She owed Emily big time for this. The blonde was shocked at how easily Emily handed over her card and paid for the items. She had just spent so much money and not bought one thing for herself.

They'd spent longer in the clothes store than Emily had anticipated, so she decided it would be best to go for lunch before hitting the toy stores.

"Can we go to Magdonalds please?" Henry asked, his eyes pleading as he glanced up at JJ and Emily.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Logan added, bouncing up and down with joy at his big brother's idea.

"Do you boys wanna know a secret?" Emily asked, crouching down to their level. They both nodded, listening carefully. "I love McDonalds."

The boys grinned at that, before looking up at their Mom.

"Please Mommy." Henry begged.

JJ looked from Henry to Logan to Emily, before sighing playfully. "Well, I don't have the energy to argue with all three of you."

"Yay!" Logan called out, hugging his Mom's leg.

Emily stood upright and smiled at JJ. "Okay do you want to take the kids straight there and I'll nip back to the car and dropped the bags off?" She suggested, reaching to take the bags from JJ.

"Are you sure you can carry them all by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." The brunette assured her friend.

"Okay, what would you like? I'll get the order in."

"I'll have a chicken nugget meal with coca cola." Emily put the bags in her right hand on the floor and reached into her purse.

"No, I'll pay for lunch." JJ almost shouted, realizing that her friend was about to give her some money. "It's the least I can do."

Emily gave an understanding nod and picked the bags up again.

As JJ was leading the boys away, Emily heard a small amount of their conversation.

"I want chicken nuggets too." Henry said.

"But you always have a cheese burger." JJ told him.

"I want chicken nuggets like Emily."

"Yeah, me." Logan added.

"You want chicken nuggets too?" JJ inquired, staring down at her youngest.

"Yeah, like Emmy."

The parking lot wasn't far away, so Emily retuned quickly and ate her lunch with the family. The meal went fairly smoothly; Logan managed to get tomato ketchup all round his face and even in his hair, but at least he hadn't made a mess on his clothes again.

After lunch, the foursome made their way to the largest toy store in the mall. The boys picked out some toy cars, teddies, books, games, balls and puzzles. JJ tried to convince the boys to go easy, but it was hard. They used to have so much and Will took it all from them.

Emily wandered off on her own and picked up some coloring books and pads of paper, along with pencil crayons and paints. She also found some sets with sequins, pipe cleaners and other arty things in and couldn't resist. JJ had always told her how much the boys loved to make things.

At that thought, her gaze fell upon boxes of Lego on sale. She picked up two big boxes of multicolored bricks, along with a build your own Lego police van and fire engine kits. As she was struggling to fit all the things in the basket, she decided to go in search for her friend.

On the way back to JJ, Emily spotted a paint your own model dinosaurs set, which of course the boys just had to have.

The brunette grinned at her friend as she spotted her and struggled to make her way towards her with all the new toys. JJ, however, shot daggers in her direction as she noticed all the things she was carrying.

"Wow!" Henry shouted, also seeing all the wonderful stuff Emily had hold of. "Is all this for us?"

"No." JJ jumped in before Emily could respond. "This is too much, Em."

"Jayje…"

"No." She interrupted again, before whispering. "I can't afford to pay all of this back."

"You don't have to pay it all back." Emily told her. "In fact you don't have to pay any of it back. This is my money and I want to spend it on my Godson and his brother, if I can't do that then what is the point of having it." Emily got a little emotional towards the end of her rant and turned away. "I don't have any other family JJ, I don't go on holidays, and I don't have enough time for hobbies or a social life. This is how I enjoy spending my money. Please, let me."

JJ had never thought about it like that before. She didn't realize until now just how much Henry and Logan meant to her.

"Please can we, Mom." Henry asked, not taking his eyes off the large amount of gifts in Emily's arms.

"Please, Please, Please Momma." Logan added, showing his Mom the puppy dog eyes she could never say no to.

"Yeah, please Mom." Emily threw in, with a pout.

JJ glared at the older woman, before she couldn't help but smile. "This is not fair. Having two children is enough hard work; I don't know if I can cope with three."

Emily stuck her tongue out at the blonde, earning giggles from Henry and Logan.

"Come on then." JJ said, sounding a little defeated. "But this is it; we're going to the checkout now."

With that said she marched off with the boys; Emily following close behind.

On the way to till point, Henry and Logan continued to ask for things as they passed them on the shelves but JJ stood her ground this time and said 'no'.

As they reached the cashier, JJ turned to check her boys were still behind her, only to find Logan pulling a big fluffy pink teddy bear, nearly the same size as him, off of the bottom shelf.

"Buy." He called out loudly.

"What do you want that for, Logan?" JJ shouted back.

"For Emmy." He said simply, dragging the huge bear towards her.

"Okay." She replied. "Give it here."

JJ kept hold of the pink teddy, as she watched everything else get scanned in. Her eyes jumped out of their sockets, as she realized Emily had bought paints.

"Paints?" She hissed at the brunette.

"Yeah, what's wrong with paints?"

"Nothing, if you don't mind having the place re-carpeted." JJ told her.

Emily chuckled at that, shaking her head, before reaching for the bear in JJ's arms.

"No." The blonde protested. "I'm paying for this."

"Okay." Emily paid for everything and once again JJ nearly had a heart attack when the total was announced.

After that, JJ bought the pink bear and the gang left the toy store.

"Okay, I have an idea." Emily announced, winking at JJ before crouching down in front of the youngsters. "How about if we all drop these heavy bags back at the car and then your Mom can do a bit of shopping for some of the boring adult things, while I take you two for ice-cream?"

"Yeah!" Henry practically screamed, while Logan looked like he was about to explode with excitement.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." JJ agreed, laughing at the way her kids' faces lit up.

Once the bags were in the car, Emily passed 500 dollars to JJ. JJ scoffed slightly and gave 300 back, before heading off to search for some birthday presents.

It didn't take her long to choose presents for the boys; most of the things she got she had already bought once, before that bastard burnt everything. Obviously she couldn't afford to buy everything she had originally picked out, but she got the most important gifts. Although she knew that if she had have asked, Emily would have allowed her to buy everything he burnt and more. She was lucky to have a friend like Emily Prentiss.

Before heading to ice-cream place, JJ stopped off to pick up some essentials, like toothbrushes, shower gel, etc; then dropped the presents off at the car.

When the blonde arrived at the ice-cream parlor, she was shocked at how busy it was. But then again it was a Saturday. She spotted Henry sat finishing off what must have been a huge ice-cream, judging by the size of the bowl. He can't have eaten too much of it though, as a very large proportion of it was all around his face. Emily had her back to her and as she got closer she could see that Logan was sat on her knee.

"Hey." JJ greeted, as she pushed her way around the small table so she could see Emily's face without her having to turn. "Oh My God." She exclaimed when she saw the large smears of chocolate ice-cream down Emily's red tee. "Logan, you need to be more careful. Look at Emily's shirt." As if she didn't feel she owed Emily enough; now her son had ruined one of her tops.

"Sorry Emmy." Logan said sincerely.

"That's okay Buddy." Emily assured him, looking up at JJ also. "No harm done; it will wash out."

"I'm so sorry, Em." JJ rushed out an apology.

"JJ, it's fine, honestly."

They decided to call it a day after that and headed back to the car. They'd hardly been on the road two minutes, before Logan fell asleep. It had after all been a long busy day for them and they won't have got much sleep last night.

JJ carried the youngest inside when they arrived back at Emily's and placed him in the spare bedroom, while Henry helped Emily with the bags. Emily made sure not to let Henry see the bags with the presents in. She left them in the car for now; they could get them later when the kids go to bed.

While Logan slept for a few hours, Henry played with his new toys in the living room. JJ nearly fell asleep herself on the couch; she probably would have, had it not been for all the noise Henry was making.

The blonde couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face, as she watched Emily playing with her eldest son. She was brilliant with the kids

The rest of the evening went by pretty smoothly. Emily cooked dinner for the four of them, when Logan woke up and then the boys played for a bit before bedtime. Logan and Henry presented Emily with the large pink teddy Logan had chosen, which she loved.

There was a small kerfuffle when the boys wanted to get the paints out and JJ, wouldn't let them, but other than that, it was a fairly easy evening.

Once the kids were in bed, JJ and Emily unloaded the remainder of the bags from the car and hid them away in Emily's bedroom, before flopping down on the couch, each with a glass of wine in their hand.

There was a comfortable silence between the pair for a while, before Emily spoke. "Thank you."

"For what?" JJ enquired, a little confused; surely if anyone should be saying thank you, it was her, not Emily.

"For letting me do that today." She answered. "I haven't had that much fun in such a long time."

"You spent too much." JJ stated.

"Nothing is too much, for those amazing children."

The blonde smiled at that. "Thank _you, _Em. Thanks for everything; the clothes, the toys, the lovely meal, the roof over our head. You're the best friend anyone could ever wish for."

The women continued to chat for a bit, while they finished their wine, before Emily announced that she was going to bed.

As the brunette was leaving the room, she stopped in the doorway. "Are you sure you're okay on the couch? I really don't mind sharing."

"I'm fine, honestly." JJ assured her, lying down on the sofa and pulling the quilt over her. "Night, Em."

"Goodnight JJ."


	6. Chapter 6

WOW! Thank you so much to everyone who is reading and supporting this story. I never would have believed I'd have over 100 alerts after just five chapters. And thank you for all the wonderful reviews; I love hearing from you all. Despite my crazy schedule, I have managed to write a short chapter of this story along with one for another story (Another JJ/Emily one if you're interested.) I hope you enjoy it!

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Jennifer Jareau was woken by the sound of her cell phone ringing next to her head. She groaned loudly at her rude awakening. As she sat up on the couch, she began to panic. If this was Hotch calling because of a case, she didn't know what she was going to do. She wasn't ready to come clean to the team yet, but she couldn't leave the boys alone. She'd need to give Hotch an explanation as to why she couldn't join them for the case.

The blonde reached into her purse and pulled out the black cell. On the screen of her phone flashed the face of her husband. JJ rejected Will's call, before throwing the cell on the floor, lying back down on the couch.

Second passed before the little black device rang again and once again JJ was presented with her husband's face. "Fuck off, Will." She whispered to the phone, before rejecting the call again and switching her cell off this time.

As much as she tried from that point on to get back to sleep, she just couldn't. Questions flooded her mind, as she lay flat on her back, on the uncomfortable couch. What did he want? Did her want her back? Did he just want to torture her some more? What could be so important that he needed to call at 1am? The questions didn't end.

Emily Prentiss was sleeping peacefully, before she was dragged from her slumber by the ringtone on her cell phone. The brunette grabbed at the cell on the side and let out a groan as she saw it was Hotch calling. Great, the last thing they need right now was a case.

"Prentiss." She answered sleepily.

"Emily, is JJ with you?" He asked with a worried tone.

"What? Why? What's happened?" Emily sprang up into a sitting position, throwing back the quilt, before launching herself out of bed and into the sitting room were JJ lay.

JJ jumped up off of the couch as Emily came into the room. "What's going on?"

"So she's not with you either?" Hotch inquired over the phone.

"What? No, she is." Emily told him. "But how do you know that?"

"Who is it?" JJ asked

"It's Hotch." Emily said. "Hang on, Hotch. I'm putting you on speaker. You've got me and JJ."

"Hey Hotch." JJ greeted. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on." He huffed down the phone. "I've just had to throw your husband out of my apartment, after he forced his way in and tore my bedroom apart, looking for you."

"Oh God Hotch, I'm so sorry." JJ rushed to apologize.

"I haven't finished yet." He told her. "After he'd finished that, he made his way into Jack's bedroom, not before fighting me off and leaving me with a black eye and a bloody nose. After scaring my son half to death and breaking a number of his things, I finally managed to wrestle him out of the building, where he stayed for a while shouting all sorts of profanities."

"I'm sorry." Was all JJ could say, feeling unbelievable guilt.

"What's going on JJ?" He called down the phone. "Do I not deserve an explanation for this?"

"Hotch, this isn't JJ's fault." Emily jumped in, feeling she needed to protect her friend. "If you'd seen her and Henry and Logan when they turned up here Friday night; if you'd seen what that bastard put them through, you would not be talking to her the way you are right now. I understand it's been a difficult evening for you, but how dare you take that out on JJ. You have no idea what's going on, so just back off… Sir." Emily added the last word, after she realized she had just shouted at her boss.

Hotch immediately felt like an idiot. He wasn't thinking straight; he was just angry. But it wasn't JJ he was angry at; it was Will. Emily was right of course; he had no right to speak to her the way he did.

"JJ, I'm sorry." He let out with a sigh. "I was just angry."

"It's fine, Hotch and you're right you do deserve an explanation." She assured him, flopping back down onto the couch, holding her hands to her head.

"Do you need an explanation right now?" Emily asked, raising her voice to Hotch again, seeing JJ tearing up once again.

JJ sprang up off of the couch and Emily swiftly turned towards the doorway, as there were three loud bangs to the front door.

"Hold that thought." Emily whispered down the phone, edging out of the lounge and towards the doorway, JJ close behind her.

"OPEN UP EMILY OR I'LL KICK THE FUCKING DOOR DOWN!" Will screamed through the wooden barrier. "I JUST WANT TO SEE IF MY WIFE IS IN HERE. IF SHE'S NOT I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE!"

"She's not here, Will." Emily called from inside.

"I NEED TO SEE FOR MYSELF!" He shouted back. "I NEED TO COME INSIDE! BELIEVE ME I WILL KICK THIS DOOR DOWN!"

There was silence for a moment. Emily turned to JJ, uncertain of what to do next.

"I'M COMING IN!" Will yelled. "STAND BACK!"


	7. Chapter 7

Just like to say a quick thank you once again to everyone supporting this story. It really means a lot to me. Please keep your wonderful reviews coming, I really love hearing from you guys. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

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"I'M COMING IN!" Will yelled. "STAND BACK!"

"WILL, DON'T YOU DARE!" A voice screamed from inside the apartment.

"JJ?" He questioned through the door. "Is that you?"

"Go home, Will." The blonde called out, moving right in front of front door.

"I need to talk to you JJ." His tone had calmed a lot in such a short period of time. "Please, just let me inside."

"Mommy?" A scared uneasy voice called from behind the women. "What's happening?"

JJ and Emily spun around to find Henry stood in the hallway with Logan at his side.

"Everything's okay." The children's mother assured them. "Just go back into the bedroom, okay."

"Henry! Logan!" Will yelled, obviously hearing JJ's word and figuring out his children were there.

"Daddy." Logan called, a little excitedly, as he ran forwards towards his Mom. Henry, however, didn't move, he froze at the sound of his father's voice.

"Let me in now!" The male shouted. "Count of three and then I'm coming in, for real this time." He paused, before starting the count. "One… Two…"

"Okay." The blonde said, rushing to unlock and open the door. When the wooden barrier finally swung open, JJ couldn't believe the sight before her. He was obviously drunk and he looked like shit. "What do you want, Will?"

"Daddy." Logan shouted out again, before Will could answer JJ's question. The young boy ran out to his father and hugged his leg.

"Hey Buddy." The southern man greeted, ruffling the youngster's hair. "Can I come inside?" He asked looking up at his wife.

JJ sighed as she stepped aside to let her husband into the house.

Will entered with Logan, before his gaze fell upon his eldest child. "Hey Henry, do I not get a hug from you?"

Henry shook his head, as tears fell from his beautiful blue eyes. Without any thought, Emily rushed towards the boy and pulled him into her side.

"Not even a 'hello'?"

He shook his head again.

"What do you want, Will?" JJ repeated, getting more than frustrated now.

"Can we talk in private?" He asked, his eyes flickering up at the brunette who held his son, as he spoke.

"No." The blonde answer simply. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Emily."

"Okay then." He went silent for a minute, until he caught onto his wife's unimpressed stare. "Come back home, JJ."

"What?"

"I want you back; back at home, where you belong; the home where our children have spent their entire lives." He reached for her hand, but she swiftly snapped it away. "I need you, JJ."

"It's not as simple as that." As much as he had put her through, JJ couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Maybe her leaving had finally set him straight; made him realize that all the accusations were ridiculous.

"I know that it'll be hard JJ." He sighed out. "But I can forgive you."

"You can forgive me?" She repeated back to him, through gritted teeth.

"Yes, I know I can." He told her. "As long as you can promise never to sleep with Rossi or Hotchner or those other two again, I can begin to forgive you."

"Get. Out." JJ let out as calmly as she could.

"No, I won't leave. You can't take my children away from me." Will grabbed hold of Logan's arm tightly, earning a cry of pain from the little boy.

"Let go of him now!" JJ screamed, launching herself forward at her husband, pushing him out of the house, but causing Logan to get dragged out with him."

"You hurting me, Daddy." Logan called out, as he began to cry, while Will's grip tightened on him.

Emily and Henry ran to the doorway as JJ and Will moved further out of the house.

"Let go of my son." The blonde shouted again, swinging her fists at the male's chest.

"He's my son too."

"That's not what you've been saying for the past two months." She spat at him.

Before JJ had realized what was happening, her face was stinging painfully as tears fell from her eyes.

"Mommy!" Logan screamed, as he witnessed his father slap his mother hard across the face. The little boy struggled out of his Dad's grip and ran forward, attempting to pull his Mom inside the house, but he couldn't.

JJ was frozen in the place she stood. Even with all the hurt she had put up with from this man, she never would have believed he could raise a hand to her. She slowly dragged her left hand up to her heated cheek and held it there, still in shock.

Emily watched the scene play out before her from the doorway, holding Henry close to her side as the youngster wept. The brunette almost growled as she saw Will's hand collide with her best friend's face.

At this point she let go of the boy beside her and passed him her cell phone, before launching out of the house. With little thought whatsoever, her hand clenched into a fist and swung at Will's face, hitting the target successfully.

The southern male made a drunken attempt to fight the brunette away from him, but it took her little effort to twist his arm behind his back and force him down onto the floor.

"Get off me, you Whore." He called out, yelping in pain as Emily pushed his arm further up his back and smacked his head down onto the floor.

The brunette straddled his back, smirking to herself a little as she applied a tad more pressure to his arm, before leaning forward stopping as her mouth came near his ear before whispering. "Listen to me, if you ever come within a mile of JJ, Henry or Logan again, I'll make sure that you're bedbound for the rest of your life. Then there'll be no worry of you wandering in where you're not welcome." She stopped for a moment as he shouted out in pain. "If you lay a hand on anyone I care about ever again, I'll kill you. Do you understand me?" She hissed in his ear. "Just count yourself lucky that I didn't have my gun in my hands tonight. Now get out of here, before I make you wish you'd never been born."

With that said, Emily slowly released the man on the floor and stood up, turning to check that her friend was okay. JJ offered a soft smile, putting Emily at ease.

When Will dragged himself up off of the floor, his eyes immediately locked onto JJ's and he went to speak, before his gaze drifted to Emily, who shot him a death glare.

"Leave." JJ spat, pulling Logan up into her arms and holding him to her chest. "Now!"

Reluctantly, he left without a word.

Emily led JJ, still holding a crying Logan, into the house, where Henry stood also sobbing, holding on tightly to the cell phone.

Emily took the cell from the little boy, before taking it off speaker and holding it to her ear. "Hotch, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Look, can we call you back tomorrow?" She asked. "I'm cold and tired, JJ's not up for talking right now and we need to get the kids settled back into bed."

"Of course." Hotch replied understandingly. "But I should probably tell you something first."

"Okay."

"You weren't the first person I called." He told her. "I called Garcia first, to see if JJ was with her and I'm pretty sure she'll be panicking right now."

Emily sighed loudly, holding her hand to her head. "Okay, I'll give her a call in a minute and let her know JJ's okay."

"Thank you, Emily." Hotch said. "I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Night Hotch." She ended the call, before turning to face JJ and the boys, who were now sat on the couch that was acting as JJ's bed.

"What's going on?" The blonde asked.

"Hotch called Garcia, before calling me."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it." Emily told her friend. "Just get yourself and the boys to bed and I'll let Garcia know that you're okay. We can talk about everything else in the morning."

JJ thought for a moment, before she stood, pulling the sleepy boys with her. "Thanks Em, you're the best."


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone, thank you again for the amazing response to this story. Apologies for the slightly longer wait between updates; I have had a rather busy week. I will try to update faster, but I can't promise anything; my schedule changes on a daily basis. I am really glad that so many people are enjoying this story and I hope you like this chapter.

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While JJ was putting the boys back into bed, Emily slipped away into her bedroom and called Garcia to let her know that everything was okay.

The technical analyst was not at all impressed that JJ's cell was switched off and Emily's was busy, when she had tried to call, but she was just glad that they were both alright. After getting a brief explanation of what was going on from Emily, Garcia told her that she had called Morgan, Rossi and Reid when she couldn't get hold of her or JJ.

_Great. _Emily thought, _JJ's not going to be happy that the whole team knows that something is going on._

After Garcia had assured her that she would let them all know not to worry, Emily agreed to Garcia coming around for a visit tomorrow, or later today depending on which way you look at it.

She wasn't sure if JJ was ready to face the rest of their friends yet, but Garcia could be very persuasive and Emily knew that Henry and Logan would love a visit from their fun Aunt Pen.

When Emily ended the call with her friend, she decided to just go to bed, JJ was probably asleep already and she could tell her about Garcia's plan to come around when they woke up. The brunette was drained and she just needed to sleep. Emily's head had barely hit the pillow, before she drifted off to the land of nod.

* * *

Jennifer Jareau's eyes flickered open and she let out a long sigh as she glanced up at the clock above the fire place. 6AM. She had hoped she'd be able to sleep in a little longer; she was so tired, but she just couldn't sleep, she'd had so many things playing on her mind.

The blonde had been restless all night after the altercation with her husband, but she was wide awake now, even though she still felt so sleepy and drained. She sat up slowly, pulling back the quilt, wincing slightly at the ache in her neck.

JJ quietly made her way out of the room and headed to the large bathroom, being careful not to make a sound, she really didn't want to wake Emily or the boys, after the night they had had. They needed to rest.

The young agent freshened up and took a quick shower, before making her way into the kitchen.

She realized that Emily had done so much for her family and she knew that nothing she could ever do would be enough to fully repay her, but the least she could do was cook her a nice hot breakfast. Knowing how much her brunette friend loved pancakes and bacon, she decided, after checking she had everything in that she needed, to make pancakes and bacon with eggs.

As JJ was cooking, a little black furry thing moved in the corner of her eye, causing her to startle. She turned swiftly, before realizing that it was only Sergio emerging from under the kitchen table.

"Hey Kitty." JJ greeted the feline, smiling as he stretched before strolling over to her and rubbing himself around her legs. "You've been making yourself scarce recently." She told him, feeling a little bad that Logan had made the cat feel uncomfortable in his own home. At least Emily understood why this little family was intruding on her life; but Sergio couldn't understand. "I'm sorry." She whispered down to the cat, before hearing a chuckle in the doorway.

The blonde's eyes shot up and met on to her friend's amused stare. "Why are you apologizing to my cat?"

"Emily… good morning… hi." JJ rushed her greeting to the brunette, before her question sunk in. "Oh, I… I was just… I was apologizing for intruding." She sighed out, knowing how ridiculous she sounded. "You know, Logan… I don't want Sergio to be unhappy; he was here first"

Emily couldn't help but laugh at her friend. "He seems pretty happy now."

JJ glimpsed down at the little furry creature, purring as he continued to brush himself against her legs. "I guess so."

"That's the smell of the bacon. He loves bacon." Emily informed her. "So do I."

"I see." The younger agent smiled. "So am I going to have you rubbing against my legs too?" JJ flushed a dark shade of red the moment those words left her lips. That hadn't come out the way she wanted it to. "I mean… oh god… you know what I mean… that didn't come out right."

"Chill JJ." Emily snickered, moving further into the room. "I know what you meant."

The bright flush left JJ's cheeks as she offered her friend a small smile. "So how do you like your eggs?"

* * *

Emily tried to help her friend with the breakfast, but JJ wouldn't have it. She insisted that Emily relax, while she cooked the meal solo.

It wasn't long before Henry and Logan came scuttling into the kitchen. Logan's eyes immediately fell on Sergio and the youngster ran forward and flopped down on the

floor next to the feline, giggling as he gently stroked the black cat. Henry sat down next to Emily at the kitchen table and the pair engaged in small talk, while JJ continued to prepare the food.

The blonde now not only had to avoid tripping over Sergio while she cooked, but also her three year old son.

After the meal was ready, Emily took Logan and Henry to wash their hands, while JJ dished up the food and set the plates on the table.

The four dug into the feast and Emily couldn't help but moan in appreciation. Nobody had cooked for her in a very long time and this was just delicious. "JJ this is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it." She inwardly cheered, overjoyed that she had pleased her friend, who had done so much to help her little family.

Emily had let it slip to Logan that Sergio was a big fan of bacon, so the little boy ended up feeding almost all of his bacon to the cat under the table. Looks like the feline may not mind having the three year old around that much anymore; it did come with its rewards.

After breakfast JJ took the boys to get dressed while Emily began to clear up. JJ protested against this at first, but Emily insisted that as JJ had cooked such an impressive meal, it was only fair that she cleared up.

After the boys were in clean clothes, JJ rang Hotch, as Emily had promised that they would, and explained everything to him. She told him about all the accusations and how Will had thrown the boys out in the bad weather and what he had done to all of their possessions. Hotch instantly felt awful about the way he had spoken to JJ the previous night; he was mad at Will, but he had no right to take that anger out of his friend. Emily was right to put him in his place.

Hotch told JJ to take as much time as she needed to adjust to the new situation and they would sort the paperwork out upon her return. He also told her to let Emily know that if she wanted to take a few days off, that would be okay.

The blonde thanked her boss, before ending the call and heading out of the room acting as the boys' bedroom, towards the family room. She lingered in the doorway, watching her children playing with the new toy cars Emily had bought for them.

Her eyes searched for her brunette friend, but she wasn't there. She made her way into the kitchen and found Emily putting away the final plates in the cupboard. "Hey."

"Hey Jayje, what's up?"

"Nothing, I called Hotch and he's told me to take as much time as I need." The blonde agent explained.

"That's good, you should take a couple of weeks, get the boys used to not having Will around." Emily agreed, beaming over at her friend.

"He also said you can take some time, if you want to." JJ informed her.

"Oh." The brunette raised her eyebrows at that. "I wasn't planning on taking any time off, unless you want me to. I don't mind taking a few days if you need me here."

"I don't know." JJ didn't know how to answer that; inside she knew she really wanted Emily to stay with her, but she could never ask her to; not after everything she had already done.

"I'm taking the time off." Emily announced, before JJ could answer properly.

"What? Why?" The younger woman asked, a little confused.

"Believe me JJ, I do not need to be a profiler to see that you want me to stay with you, but you still feel like you owe me something so you're afraid to ask me to."

"Emily, I…"

"I'm taking the time off JJ." Emily cut her off. "Hotch offered and I'm taking him up on that offer; you can't change my mind." She smirked, winking over at the slightly stunned blonde.

"Okay fine, but I'm cooking you breakfast every day." JJ spat back at her as if it were a threat.

"That is more than okay with me." The brunette agreed. "I don't have to rub against your legs, do I?" she teased, smirking over at her friend as the blonde blushed.

Before JJ had time to respond, there was a loud knock at the door. "Who's that, are you expecting anyone?"

"No, I…" Just then Emily remembered what she had agreed with Garcia. "Oh."

"What?"

"I forgot to tell you." Emily moved towards the front door, JJ following closely behind her. "I told Garcia she could visit today."


	9. Chapter 9

Hey Guys, thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I love hearing from you all. Here's the next chapter.

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The moment Emily opened the front door, Garcia sprang into the house towards the blonde in the hallway and pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh my God, you scared me half to death last night. Why was your cell switched off? Why was Hotch looking for you? Why are you staying here? I heard you finally leave Will? What happened, Angel? How did he take it? What's going on?"

"Garcia, give her a chance to answer." Emily jumped in with a little chuckle.

"And you." The technical analyst pulled away from JJ and moved towards Emily. "Don't think I wasn't worried about you too, when I couldn't get hold of you."

"Come sit down and we'll explain everything properly." JJ told her, offering a half smile to her friend.

Emily was about to lead Garcia into the front room, when she leaped forwards, spotting Henry in the doorway. "Come here my little prince." She pulled the seven year old into a tight hug, which he gladly returned with a grin.

Henry loved his Aunt Pen; she was really funny and silly and she gave them lots of presents all the time.

"And where is your beautiful little brother?" She inquired, looking around the room Henry had just emerged from.

Logan made a growling sound as he popped out from behind the couch, causing Garcia to jump a little. "There you are little man."

"I not man, I a tiger." He told her, leaping forward on all fours as he growled at her again.

"Oh, I see." She grinned down at him. "Well you are the cutest little tiger I have ever seen."

"Not cute, I scary." He crept forward towards Henry, before pouncing at the older boy. Henry chuckled as Logan chased him down the hallway, growling as he went.

"Boys, don't run." JJ called after them.

"Just when I thought they couldn't possibly get any more adorable." Penelope turned to JJ and smiled. "So what happened, Jayje?"

"Come on." JJ led her friend in to the kitchen.

Emily left JJ to explain everything to Garcia, while she kept the boys occupied in the front room.

* * *

At the end of the detailed explanation, Garcia's jaw was almost hitting the floor. Like with Emily, JJ had explained some of the accusations to Penelope in the past, but the technical analyst had no idea just how bad things had gotten.

JJ had seen the flames flickering in Garcia's eyes as she told her how Will had thrown the boys out while JJ wasn't there and the state she had found them in when she got home.

"O.M.G., you have no idea what I am going to do to that slimy weasel's bank accounts." Garcia began to rant. "He is going to wish he'd never been born by the time I'm finished with him. If I know Emily like I think I do, there is no way he is going to be able to reproduce ever again after she's had her way with that creep." She huffed out. "If I wasn't the oh so innocent person I am, I'd kill that loser, I would."

"Garcia calm down." JJ interrupted her friend as she looked like she was about to explode. "I just want to forget all about it for now okay. Hotch has given me some time off to get used to the change. Emily's given me a place to stay for a short while. I just want to forget about Will until I'm ready to deal with our situation." She glanced down at the floor. "If you screw around with his accounts or go and see him, it's just going to provoke him to contact me and I can't deal with that right now. Will owes me a lot and I will sort that out, but not now; for now I just need to act as if he doesn't exist and make sure that my boys are okay."

The blonde saw her friend's expression sink as she finished her sentence and she instantly felt bad.

"Pen, don't think that I'm not grateful for what you are trying to do; I appreciate it so much. I love that you care about my family and what you'd be willing to do for us. But I don't need you to attack Will; I just need you as a friend."

Penelope jumped up from her chair and pulled her broken friend into her arms, holding onto her tightly. "I will always be here for you and so will Emily and the rest of the team."

There weren't too sure how long they stayed in this position but eventually the ladies pulled apart and joined Emily and the kids in the family room. Garcia stayed and played for a few hours, before heading off home, much to Henry and Logan's disappointment.

* * *

Later that evening JJ announced that it was bath time.

Henry grinned up at Emily as he explained to her that he was a big boy now and that he could take a bath all by himself. JJ ran a bath for her eldest son and left him alone while she went to get his clean pajamas for him.

While Henry was in the tub and JJ was pottering around, Emily sat in the front room playing with Logan's toy cars, listening carefully to him as he showed her all of his favorite ones.

After a short while, JJ appeared in the doorway with a pajama clad Henry. She couldn't help but grin down at Emily as she played with her youngest son.

"Come on, mister." The blonde called to the little boy. "Bath time."

"No." Logan called out giggling, crawling away from his Mom, as she strode towards him. "No bath. Bath bad."

"No bath good." JJ told him, groaning as the three year old stood and ran past her out of the family room. "Logan, come back!"

Emily could hear the youngest little boy laughing as his mother chased him down the hallway. The brunette caught onto the gaze of the older boy and couldn't contain her own laughter as he rolled his eyes.

She heard Logan groan out in annoyance as JJ caught him, before the sound of the bathroom door closing echoed around the apartment.

"Hey." She called to Henry, who still stood near the doorway. "You wanna play?"

The little blonde haired boy nodded, although he didn't smile.

"You okay buddy?" She asked him, concerned. "You look sad."

The youngster dropped down to the floor, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes as spoke. "What's wrong with Daddy?"

_Oh no._ Emily didn't know how to deal with this. What should she say to him? How much should she tell him? How much does he already know? "I don't know, Honey."

"He's mean. He hates us." He whispered, more to himself. "And I hate him."

"Oh Honey." Emily pulled the boy into her arms as the salty water began to stream down his cheeks. "I don't know what is going on inside your Daddy's head right now. I don't know how he's feeling." She sighed. Emily hated making excuses for Will, but she couldn't very well just say 'yeah your Dad does hate you because he thinks you're not his and that your Mom is sleeping around'. "I just don't know, Sweetie. But do you wanna know what I do know?"

"What?" He inquired, lifting his teary gaze up to meet Emily's.

"I know that your Mom loves you so much and she cares about you and your brother more than you could ever imagine. I know that you miss your Dad and that you hate him a little bit and that's okay. But the most important thing for you to remember is how much your Mom loves you. I'll be honest with you Henry; I don't know what's going to happen to your Dad, but I know that your Mom will always love you and she's not going anywhere. You've got her."

"And you?" He questioned, wiping away some of the tears that had fallen.

"Yeah, you've got me too."

Emily held the little boy to her chest, as he cuddled close to her. She hugged him tightly for a moment, before their attention was stolen by the sound of banging and shouting from the bathroom.

"No Logan, come back here now!" JJ yelled, as the bathroom door swung open.

Next thing Emily knew, there was a soaking wet, naked three year old running around her living room. Her gaze caught onto Henry's and he rolled his eyes again. This was obviously something that happened a lot in their household.

JJ wrestled Logan into the spare bedroom, where she dried him off and helped him into his pajamas, before heading back to the front room to apologize to Emily.

After that, the remainder of the evening went by with little excitement.

At bedtime JJ tucked her boys into the double bed, before reading them a bedtime story. Emily couldn't help but smile as she stood in the bedroom doorway, witnessing the story time. She really was falling in love with this little family.


End file.
